University beat officers are encouraging students to look after their neighbours as the new academic year gets underway.

Officers looking after De Montfort, Leicester, and Loughborough universities will attend welcome events, visit halls of residence and knock on doors in student populated areas to hand out advice and encourage them to respect their neighbours.

The beat officers are also keen to stress to students, many of whom will be away from home for the first time, to think about their personal safety.

What is the police advice?

Advice includes making sure students are aware of who is walking behind them when entering halls of residence and reporting any suspicious activity to student wardens, university security or officers.

In addition, students are being reminded to register their possessions with immobilise.com, make sure their doors and windows are kept locked, any bikes are secured properly, and they do not leave their phone or drink unattended when socialising.

PC 4550 Sam Burton, who is De Montfort University’s new beat officer, said: “We want to make sure we give a warm welcome to students, many of whom will be leaving home for the first time to come to the city.

Leicester, Loughborough and De Montfort Universities

“Moving to a new place can be daunting but we’re here to assist and provide some advice.

“Many students will be moving into residential areas of the city too and we would encourage them to get to know their neighbours, be considerate in terms of noise and putting bins out, and ensure they don’t become an easy target by locking windows and doors.

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What's going on at our universities?

“Leicester is a great place to live and the chances of them becoming a victim of crime is low, but it’s important they follow this simple, common sense advice.”

Students are also being advised to back up all their data in a memory stick or on the cloud and beware of phishing emails from people claiming to be from student loan companies.

'We want them to feel safe'

Councillor Piara Singh-Clair, deputy city mayor and chair of the Safer Leicester Partnership, said: “As a member of the Safer Leicester Partnership the city council is very pleased to be able to support the police in this important work.

“Students make a huge contribution to Leicester and we want them to feel safe, and to be valued members of their local communities."